The Nigerian film industry was jolted during the week following reports that Nollywood actor, filmmaker and former Enugu State chairman of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Stanley Amandi, was arrested over his alleged involvement in a failed coup plot against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

DAILY GAZETTE gathered that Amandi was arrested in Enugu alongside several serving military officers suspected to be linked to the plot.

Family members and associates initially believed he was in the custody of the Department of State Services, but were later informed otherwise.

Sources said the DSS subsequently “officially wrote” to the actor’s family, clarifying that he was being held by the Defence Intelligence Agency.

It was also learnt that the family had “reached out” to the DIA, requesting access for his wife, legal counsel and a medical doctor, citing concerns over his health condition, as the actor is said to be hypertensive.

According to findings reported by Premium Times, Amandi was allegedly involved in the media and messaging component of the failed plot.

Investigators reportedly suspect that he was to function as a propagandist, helping to shape public narratives capable of justifying or promoting an unconstitutional takeover, thereby positioning him as a civilian collaborator in what authorities describe as a grave national security breach.

Details of the alleged coup attempt first surfaced months ago after discreet arrests were made within the military.

However, further insight into how the plot was uncovered later emerged through an investigative report by Premium Times.

The report indicated that the scheme began to unravel after a concerned military officer alerted senior leadership about suspicious meetings and discussions pointing to plans to overthrow the government.

Intelligence gathered around the same time by the State Security Service reportedly confirmed that some officers were exploring ways to destabilise Nigeria’s democratic system.

Investigators allegedly uncovered a wider network of collaborators and a plan that extended beyond the seizure of power.

The report claimed that discussions also included the assassination of senior political figures, among them President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.

Security agencies were said to have carried out coordinated arrests across multiple locations to halt the plot before it advanced.

What initially appeared to be routine internal military disciplinary matters later escalated into a comprehensive national security investigation.

The Indigenous People of Biafra has declared a total sit-at-home across the South-East on Monday, calling for a shutdown of economic and social activities in protest against the closure of the Onitsha Main Market by the Anambra State Government.

The pro-Biafran group said the lockdown would cover Anambra, Abia, Imo, Enugu and Ebonyi states, urging traders, transporters, banks, schools, civil servants and residents to observe the action peacefully.

The declaration came as Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, ordered the immediate remodelling of the Onitsha Main Market following a one-week closure of the commercial hub.

Soludo had ordered the market’s closure during an on-site visit, citing the persistent observance of Monday sit-at-home orders and the collapse of infrastructure at what was once described as the biggest market in West Africa.

Addressing traders and stakeholders at the Light House in Awka on Friday, the governor said, “The Onitsha Main Market, in its current state, is no longer functional. We have done the study. The main market is no longer what it was designed to be. It has literally died.

“I recall a time in the late 70s when the market was a model of efficiency, with wide streets allowing trucks and shoppers to move freely. Today, that layout has been replaced by chaos. If people cannot park, they cannot shop. In the late 70s, trucks used to drive into the market; massive parking spaces were provided. Today, that is gone.”

Soludo attributed the market’s decline to decades of poor urban planning and the recurring Monday sit-at-home, noting that the market had been effectively shut for more than 260 days, with billions of naira lost weekly and customers diverted to neighbouring states.

“Leadership requires taking inconvenient steps to secure the future. The closure of the market is a corrective measure to reclaim the state’s economic life,” he said.

“The state commissioned world-renowned experts in 2023 to draft a rebuilding plan for the market’s resurrection — a vision for the 25-hectare site. This is in recognition that the future of global commerce lies in efficient logistics rather than just tiny stalls.

“Therefore, the remodelling efforts align with my manifesto to create planned and sustainable markets, communities, and cities. At this point, leadership beckons on us to take those inconvenient steps to secure the future.”

Following the directive, the Chairman of Onitsha Main Market, Chief Chijioke Okpalaugo, said traders had accepted the government’s redevelopment plan while seeking time to secure their goods.

Okpalaugo said, “After careful consideration of the proposals presented by the state government for the revitalisation of our market, we, the leadership and traders of Onitsha Main Market, officially announce that we have chosen ‘Option 2’ as the preferred path forward.

“We recognise that leadership requires difficult choices, and we accept this path for the ultimate good of Ndị Anambra and the survival of our iconic market. We are committed to the vision of a planned, sustainable, and accessible market that can once again compete on a global stage.”

However, IPOB, in a statement issued on Friday by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, said the decision to shut the market and threaten further sanctions against traders would not be tolerated.

The statement read in part: “The Indigenous People of Biafra, under the resolute and prophetic leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, hereby declares a Biafra-wide solidarity strike — a complete lockdown of all economic activities across Igboland and wider Biafran territories — on Monday, February 2, 2026.

“This total shutdown across Biafraland is a direct, peaceful, and unified response to the tyrannical actions of Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo, who has shut down the Onitsha Main Market for one week and threatened further month-long closures, revocation of land ownership, demolition, and punitive repurposing if traders continue their legitimate observance of Monday sit-at-home in solidarity with our unjustly imprisoned leader.

“This strike is not enforcement; it is a voluntary, collective expression of outrage and solidarity with the hardworking traders of Onitsha, whose livelihoods are now under direct assault by a governor who has chosen to act as an enforcer for anti-Biafran interests rather than a servant of his people.”

The group further said, “Soludo’s closure of Africa’s largest market, coupled with his reckless threats to revoke allocations and rebuild in ‘public interest,’ is economic warfare against Biafrans. It is designed to break the spirit of peaceful civil disobedience that has highlighted the injustice of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s continued detention despite sham proceedings.”

IPOB stated that the Monday sit-at-home originated as a peaceful protest demanding the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu, adding, “Soludo’s escalation only exposes his desperation to provoke confrontation at a time when Biafra’s international profile is rising and diplomatic efforts are gaining traction.”

Calling on residents of the region, the group said, “On Monday, February 2, 2026, we call on all Biafrans — traders, transporters, banks, schools, civil servants, and every sector across Anambra, Abia, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi, and beyond — to observe this solidarity strike peacefully.

“Remain indoors, refrain from all commercial and public activities, and demonstrate to the world our disciplined resolve. This is not about disruption for its own sake; it is about standing with Onitsha traders who are being punished for demanding justice and reaffirming that no governor can coerce free citizens into abandoning their rights or their solidarity.

“Soludo’s war on Onitsha traders is a war on all Biafrans. This strike will send a clear message: Touch one, touch all. Our leader’s prophecy endures — Biafra’s liberation is near, and no amount of intimidation will stop it.”

In this episode, yours sincerely will venture into an objective and holistic review of the performance of the executive governor of Enugu State, His Excellency Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah in various critical sectors of the economy.

Recently, the opposition has tried to mislead the public by trying to cook up nonexistent poor implementation of the widely decorated and celebrated programs of Gov. Mbah, which were rolled out during the campaign for the election that brought him to power in 2023.

But a dutiful follower of the administration will notice that the people’s governor has been investing an unquantifiable amount of passion, energy, intellect, and resources into excellent implementation of all the projects, programs, etc., he marshaled out for our people ab initio.

We shall, in this series, touch on all major aspects of the set out projects and cross-match the same with what is already on the ground in Enugu under the government of Mbah, to enable our people see that if there is anything anyone can accuse the government of Mbah of, dereliction of duty is not one of them.

In fairness, it can be said that what drives many critics into wrong assumptions can be attributed to their inability to understand the importance and relevance of all the programs and projects of the governor already littered everywhere in Enugu State.

This is more so since the governor has a penchant for taking everything up to the international standard and global best practices, while the bulk of the armchair critics appear quite unprepared and unavailable for such a level of development yet.

And we must therefore commend the governor for always striving to bring the future closer.

We shall examine in this piece such sectors as Agriculture, Energy, and Mineral Resources.

The present administration has embarked on several capital projects and reforms in the energy and mineral resources sector with a special focus on the utilization of the state’s natural endowment to ignite economic growth and industrialization.

Coal-to-Power Project (1,000 MW Target): In September 2025, the governor announced plans to generate 1000 MW of power from the state’s abundant coal resources which have remained untapped for decades now.

Recall that coal was to Nigeria what oil is to the country today. Coal was abandoned following the discovery of oil and other factors. But the importance and usage of coal have not been extinguished in the rest of the world.

This underscores the fact that any leader in Nigeria today who can reinvent the utilization of coal has succeeded in doing a noble job in the much-touted diversification of the economy to pave the way for the development of the non-crude oil sector of the Nigerian economy.

It is in view of this that Peter Mbah, from the outset, specifically promised to ensure that mining of coal resumes in Enugu and vowed to procure the approval for the mining right for Enugu State, from the federal government of Nigeria.

Speaking at an event, “ _Meet the Governor Series”,_ organized by the Nigeria British Chamber of Commerce, NBCC, in Lagos some months ago, Governor Mbah stated that “ _We cannot treat our coal as a stranded asset, particularly the Enugu coal, which is a premium coal.

“Our target is to see how we can use our coal to generate at least 1000 megawatts of power. We do have technology today that makes coal utilization less adverse to the environment. Essentially, that is the direction for us.”_

Allaying the fear of high Sulphur content, which has been a major drawback to the utilization of coal, the governor clarified that “ _for a lot of coals, if you have 1.0 per cent of sulphur, you are still okay. But we have only 0.5 per cent of sulphur.”

“Our coal is also very good for fire power plants due to its high calorific value. So, we are on that and we are not going to warehouse our coal resources.”

Having strongly set the ball rolling, this campaign promise has received the required attention and will transform Enugu’s economy beyond forecast when fully realized.

In the agricultural sector, the governor stated from the beginning that the objective of our programmes in the agriculture sector shall be to “Feed Enugu State and turn the State into a food-basket for Nigeria and hub for export of cash crops”.

The target is to eliminate food insecurity in the state by 2031 through massive investments in technologies for agricultural productivity in the State, technology-enabled agricultural extension services, implementation of Specialized Agro-allied Industrial zones in all Senatorial Zones of the state, and accelerated technologies for agricultural systems transformation in Enugu State.

Looking around Enugu state, one will discover that the governor has already invested the sum of 2billion naira into the establishment of the Farm Estate initiative across the 260 wards in Enugu state.

This even brought the project closer to people than initially planned.

This project, which has gone far in almost all the communities in Enugu state, will achieve the purpose of food sufficiency in Enugu state as targeted.

Apart from this, the farmers and headsmen crisis stands permanently resolved, and huge employment opportunities will be generated upon completion.

Under Governor Mbah too, Enugu has launched its own rice brand, showcasing measurable progress in rice production. Yet the livestock section of agriculture is not left out in the scheme of things.

Governor Mbah through the state ministry of agriculture has trained over 450 livestock farmers under Livestock Productivity And Resilience Support (L-PRES) which according to the Commissioner for Agriculture, Patrick Uburu aims to transition them into large-scale production, enhancing Enugu’s comparative advantage in livestock farming

In conclusion, we have shown in this write-up that Gov. Mbah has so far exceedingly done well above original targets in the Agricultural sector.

The Energy and Mineral resources sectors have all equally received adequate attention from the government, unlike the narrative by some naysayers who continued to spread unfounded stories of non-implementation of campaign promises purely based on their own ignorance.

Watch out as we take on other sectors in our subsequent write-ups.

The Enugu State Government has announced a major overhaul of its land administration system, slashing land-related charges by over 60 per cent and abolishing all illegal levies, including the widely criticised Ogbonecheagu fees, in a move aimed at boosting transparency, investment, and ease of doing business.

Under the new policy, ground rent, land use charge, and other property-related payments have been harmonised into a single annual Unified Land Use Charge payable through the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ES-IRS).

Property owners will now make one payment yearly, whether their properties are located within estates or outside them.

Governor Peter Mbah announced the reforms on Thursday at a stakeholders’ townhall meeting on land sector development held at the International Conference Centre, Enugu.

Speaking through the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, the Governor said the reforms were part of his administration’s broader economic transformation agenda designed to build a transparent, efficient, and investor-friendly land administration system.

Prof. Onyia described land as the foundation of housing, infrastructure, agriculture, commerce, and investment, stressing that the government had since inception pursued deliberate reforms to modernise land governance, curb abuse, and restore public confidence in the land tenure system.

According to him, the new framework is anchored on transparency, digitisation of records, predictability in charges, and strict adherence to statutory procedures for land allocation, registration, and development control.

A key component of the reforms is the immediate abolition of Ogbonecheagu fees and other unauthorised charges imposed by some communities and local governments.

Prof. Onyia said Governor Mbah had declared such levies illegal following widespread complaints by residents and property owners.

He disclosed that a task force has been set up to enforce compliance, warning that individuals or groups found collecting illegal land-related charges would face sanctions.

Members of the public who are compelled to pay such levies were advised to submit evidence to Whistleblowing@enugustate.gov.ng for prompt government intervention.

The SSG explained that the reforms were guided by recommendations from a multi-stakeholder Committee on Land-Related Revenue and Administration constituted by the Governor to address issues of multiple taxation, extortion, and revenue leakages in the land sector.

In his remarks, the Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development, Barr. Chimaobi Okorie, said the administration had introduced critical policy and legal instruments to support orderly development.

He cited an executive order declaring nine of the state’s seventeen local government areas as urban areas to enhance planning and structured infrastructure growth.

Okorie also noted that the enactment of the Enugu State Geographic Information System (ENGIS) law has transformed land administration into a one-stop, fully digitised platform, eliminating missing files and enabling digital tracking of every plot of land in the state.

He added that applications for Certificates of Occupancy can now be processed online or through designated government offices, while the Property Protection Law signed by the Governor guarantees the security of legitimate property ownership and investor assets.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of ENGIS, Mr. Chiwetalu Nwatu, announced new guidelines on building approvals, stating that structures within government-owned housing estates must obtain approval directly from the Ministry of Housing or the Housing Development Corporation.

He added that building approvals for properties in private estates within the Enugu municipal area would now be handled exclusively by the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority to eliminate overlaps and delays.

Nwatu further disclosed that Certificates of Occupancy for properties in both private and government estates will henceforth be issued directly to individual owners, strengthening title security and improving access to credit.

On his part, the Executive Chairman of ES-IRS, Mr. Emmanuel Ekene Nnamani, said the newly enacted Tax Law was structured to place a higher burden on the wealthy while protecting low-income earners.

He urged residents to obtain their Tax Identification Numbers at no cost and comply with tax obligations to support effective development planning.

Responding to stakeholders’ concerns, Prof. Onyia announced the constitution of a committee chaired by the ENGIS Managing Director to address issues relating to land layouts and submit recommendations within one week.

The townhall meeting drew participation from government agencies, community landholders, estate developers, surveyors, town planners, property agents, lawyers, traditional rulers, town unions, investors, civil society organisations, and members of the public.